Nick's frustration with predictive text, which he mentioned in a recent thread, makes it pertinent to repeat what I've said elsewhere.

I wish I could just ignore sum of teh owlers, but when I'm reading through a post and have to keep re-reading a section to make sense of it I wonder what visitors to this forum (especially the many foreign ones) make of the standard of UK education when the fault actually lies with predictive text and the user's inability (I'm being kind there) to read what's been written (notice I didn't say "what they've written") and edit it themselves. I try desperately hard not to correct spelling mistakes unless they add to the confusion because I can understand some people finding that patronising. Perhaps I ought to start collecting the typographical errors (typos) and putting them into a 'Black Museum' category.

I know the combination of small keypads, small screens, predictive text, and the lifestyles that go with smartphones, i-whatevers, make it inevitable that neighbouring keys will be hit to make words like 'gear' into 'fear', 'plate' into 'olate', 'test' into 'rest', but I'm struggling to understand how 'part' becomes 'fart' and struggling even more to understand why it wasn't picked up when it was checked before sending.

it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. the rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe

Fact remains that typo errors have increased noticeably, except by those members who post the more 'involved', complex contributions, probably because they've proof-read their posts (?).

Incidentally, when one poster's first entry was all CAPITALS he was leapt on for "shouting". Not by me!

And as I've explained elsewhere, once a Mod goes into a post to correct a (glaring) typo all other textual errors are highlighted and take milli-seconds to correct. Daft not to take the opportunity to correct?

Now, I had one contributor who was not a native English speaker and while super smart was totally incomprehensible and in any case I used him as a 'Casandra' anonymous commentator, so I used to rewrite the words totally.

When my sister-in-law restored very valuable historic paintings for the Louvre she was instructed to make it VERY obvious where she had been working so that there'd never be any confusion about the original voice vs hers.

Always at pains to point out that NOTHING of the technical content is altered in any way, nor is any sentiment that may have been expressed, which is why the reason for the editing is (usually, although not invariably) indicated in the edit notification.

D, you're as sensitive as a couple of us others to the unwelcome practice of censoring posts, which is why it isn't something that would ever happen here.

I suppose I feel about this forum the way I feel about the country park adjacent to us, and indeed the rest of the village, which is why I'll pick up litter whenever I see it. It costs nothing to do and keeps the place looking like the kind of place I want to live in. Probably comes from taking pride in my work and caring not just about the job I happened to be working on but the immediate area in which I was working. It was usually me who went around at close of day with the broom. Wasn't born like that, the importance of a tidy working area was brought home to me by an old guy I used to work with on site many years ago. I was loading the van at the end of the day and he was sweeping up. It was in the corner of a factory and I asked him why he was bothering, suggesting that clearing best be left until we'd finished the job the following day. He said (and he never stopped sweeping): "This is today's mess."

I could die with shame if I notice that there are typos in my posts, but I'm not too fussed about other people's. I do appreciate the care with which some posts are crafted and thought through.

BTW one of the reasons it's hard to proofread one's own work is because the mechanism for processing information is different depending on whether the text is illuminated by emitted light (ie screens of various sorts) or if it's illuminated by reflected light (ie paper). The different pathways begin with the rods and cones in the eye and travel completely different routes through the brain, to be processed in completely different areas. Editing via emitted light sources is estimated to be about 75% LESS efficient than reflected light, so it's understandable that posts on screen contain typos.

Dave, I'm with you 100%.
The difference between this place and a prominent and popular plumbing forum are chalk and cheese.
I dipped my toe in the plumbing place and it was like a friggin boxing match with me vs a crowd of shouters. Deleted my membership after one evening as it was simply a single minded bully run saloon.
I read a couple of posts recently, by new but repeat members, when I got a headache trying to work out what the hell was being said. I opened one and edited an obvious typo, but then the rest was just a train wreck so I couldn't edit any further for risk of offending the member as it would have been my interpretation and maybe not theirs.
The modern bollocks of short hand texting gets my back right up. If my mate text me the likes of "meet u l8r t b home 4......etc etc" then I don't even reply as I used to get a slap for not pronouncing my H's and having my elbows on the table, and such utter cr4p therefore winds me right up.
As you say, correcting a typo or altering content are two different things, and I think a spot of pride in the appearance of this place is not just welcomed, but sets a precedence for others to follow. If you want to take from this place then best to give a bit too, my only regret is I'm not on it 24/7 so a bit slips past me. That's where you step in lol.
Good example, and appreciated
And Pro Daves post was clearly Irish. End of............
Regards, Nick.

Is the term 'typo' acceptable.
I hate a university being called 'uni', it has even crept into The Archers, but they are Brummies really.
I personally think that acronyms should only spell out rude words, be much more fun.